David Kearney, ILGU Coach (Centre) and Officials with members of the Under 18 & Under 21 Irish Ladies International Squad at Desert Springs during their visit to the Desert Springs Resort for a 7-day intensive winter training camp.
“Desert Springs is an excellent Resort to come and practice your golf, the conditions of the practice facilities and the golf course are fantastic.
In fact, it is the best Resort I´ve come to play, surely a very enjoyable experience.
The service on the Resort is simply top level and the resort apartments provided for our accommodation are exactly what we needed for rest and relaxation and the beautiful weather makes you want to stay.
I can´t believe I´m going back to the cold of Ireland!”
That is the verdict of Squad member Danielle McVeigh who is now to turn Professional, one of the Irish Ladies Golf Union International Squad members, who have returned from their first visit to the Desert Springs Resort for a 7-day intensive winter training programme to develop their individual golfing skills.
Three officials from the Irish Ladies Golf Union accompanied twelve girls aged between 15 – 27 years for 7 days of warm weather winter training at the Desert Springs Resort between Monday 9th – Saturday 16th February.
A view from the 1st Tee (Cactus Point) of the Indiana golf course at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almanzora region of Almeria in south-east Spain.
The training camp utilised the excellent practice facilities at the Desert Springs Golf Academy where the PGA Instructors were able provide one-to-one tuition and take advantage of the use of the Desert Springs short game academy.
ILGU Squad members working on there putting technique at the Desert Springs Short Game Academy.
LGU Squad members working on there chipping technique at the Desert Springs Short Game
Academy.
David Kearney, ILGU Coach commented:
“I was very excited about using Desert Springs as the base for our Winter Training Camp, since I had heard many great things about the Resort and its popularity amongst Squads and other Teams.
During our stay we have never been intruded upon; rather there has been the utmost of respect shown to our group, which has enabled us to practice with great freedom.
In accordance with a pre-designed and agreed itinerary, everything was perfectly organised and the staff met our needs fully.
The layout of the Resort is brilliant as all facilities are on hand and within easy access.
I´m already looking at the next Academic Year to pre-book our next training visit to Desert Springs!”
Accommodation for the ILGU squad members and coaches was provided in the apartments
available at Desert Springs.
- For details of Golf & Sports Training Camps, Corporate Golf Events and Meetings at Desert Springs call 01242 680 116 or visit the website, www.almanzora.com
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To find out more about the Irish Ladies Golf Union visit the website
www.ilgu.ie
Additional background Information
Warm weather winter training camps at Desert Springs
Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, is proving to be one of the most popular destinations for warm weather winter training camps among the growing number of schools with their own golf academies and teams, currently estimated at around 90 in the UK. In addition to the Irish Ladies Golf Union squad members, visiting groups have included the National Squad of the Golf Union of Wales for whom Desert Springs is its official ‘overseas home’, golfing pupils from Hartpury College Golf School, Lee Westwood Golf Academy, Darren Clarke Golf School, Millfield School, Reading Blue Coat School at Sonning-on-Thames, King Edward’s School in Bath and Loretto School at Musselburgh near Edinburgh.
All school golf trips to Desert Springs are bespoke. If desired, the programme can include time away from the golf course for some local sightseeing in what many regard as ‘the real Spain.’
During their stay pupils have opportunities to swim, play tennis and use the gymnasium, trim trail, jogging tracks, paddle tennis and beach volley ball courts.
Desert Springs is easy to reach from the UK, thanks to three international airports. They are:
Almeria Airport, around 40 minutes away by road; Murcia Airport, 80 minutes by car, and Alicante Airport which is a drive of less than two hours. Airlines currently flying to the region from the UK include easyJet, Monarch, Ryanair, Jet2, Jetair Fly and Thomas Cook. Already well known as a resort specialising in family holidays, Desert Springs is gaining popularity as a centre for warm-weather training for cricketers and footballers, as well as golfers.
Accommodation is provided in the apartments and villas available for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs. Meals are served in the resort’s Croc Restaurant, part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club that is geared up for a wide variety of leisure activities and the award winning El Torrente Restaurant at the Club House.
A spokesman for Desert Springs said that, depending on the size of the group and its requirements, the total cost of a four-day trip for warm weather training, including flights, would work out at between £350 and £400 per person.
The Desert Springs Resort & Golf Club
Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs include:
- a 72 par 18-hole USGA Indiana golf course designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California;
- a golf academy whose PGA qualified teaching professionals cater for several international teams, for the women’s elite squads of the Golf Union of Wales and for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour and LET players.
- two hard tennis courts, two paddle courts, beach volley ball and two football pitches – one is a full-size grass pitch; the other is designed for five-a-side games;
- a Spanish colonial style Golf Club House with a lounge, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, TV and reading rooms, and a Ralph Lauren Golf Boutique;
- The Crocodile Club which provides family fun at the heart of the resort with pools, equipped sand play areas, a kid’s battery powered John Deere Gator circuit and a games room as well as a jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
- a health and fitness club and spa.
Awards
In 2005 Desert Springs won the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture. In 2006, it was awarded the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development.
In 2007, the El Torrente Restaurant received the New Millennium International Gastronomy Award for the Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry. This award was created by the Trade Leaders Club with the aim of distinguishing companies from all countries, for the outstanding quality of their products or services.
The climate of the Almanzora coastal region
Desert Springs takes it name from the region’s desert microclimate, which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm. The Almanzora’s coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.
Reader enquiries:
NOTE: High Resolution Images available upon request.
Simon Coaker
The Almanzora Group Ltd
The Manor, Boddington, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ
Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116
e: tag@almanzora.co.uk
www.almanzora.com
